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A wrap of the final day of the ninth round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group B

Sidharth Monga01-Jan-2013
ScorecardFile photo: Abhimanyu Mithun provided Karnataka the inspiration with a double-strike in the final session•AFP

After a disappointing season, Karnataka needed a host of things to go their way – not only in their match, but in their group – for them to qualify. They needed Odisha to lose. Odisha lost. If they didn’t win by a bonus point, they needed Delhi to take a first-innings lead but not win their match. That happened too.As Delhi failed to take their opponents’ wickets, Karnataka were running out of time too, but they somehow kept producing the wickets on a flat Pune pitch against a determined Maharashtra side. After they managed to wrap Maharashtra’s second innings up for 561, Karnataka were left with 89 to chase in 13 overs. Not without drama, they did so with eight balls to spare, and progressed into the next round.At the start of the day, Maharashtra were 315 for 2, a deficit of only 158. Ankit Bawne began the day on 80 not out, and would remain undefeated. Karnataka kept pegging away at the other end. In the first session, HS Sharath picked up two wickets.After lunch, Maharashtra looked comfortable, but Syed Moinuddin broke through with the wicket of the dangerous Kedar Jadhav. Another partnership followed, this time between Bawne and Rahul Tripathi, but Sharath got rid of Tripathi before tea.Going into the final session, though, Maharashtra had already taken a lead of 40 runs, and had four wickets in hand. Karnataka’s state was not at all enviable. They had to take the wickets, and then wipe off all the additional runs. The clock kept ticking away.Abhimanyu Mithun, who took six wickets in the first innings, now provided the inspiration with the wickets of Shrikant Mundhe and Stayajit Bachhav in back-to-back overs. Still, Maharashtra had got 62 ahead by then. A little over 20 overs remained in the day’s play.To Karnataka’s annoyance, No. 10 Sachin Chaudhari swung his bat, and scored 14 off 19 balls, taking the lead to 84. It was all getting away from Karnataka, but Stuart Binny’s inspired move to get Amit Verma to bowl worked. The legspinner trapped Chaudhari, and Mithun finished the innings off in the next over.With Robin Uthappa not well, Karnataka opened with Kunal Kapoor and Lokesh Rahul. Kapoor managed just 8 off 12, and his wicket meant Karnataka would not win with a bonus point. That ensured Baroda, seven points adrift of Karnataka, were ensured qualification, but also that Karnataka would need Delhi to draw their game.Delhi fell short by three wickets in Nagpur, and Rahul and Binny hit their way towards a win. Rahul scored an unbeaten 42 off 34. Binny fell for 25 off 17, but fittingly their record-breaking wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam finished it off with 16 off eight balls.In the quarter-finals, Karnataka will face Saurashtra in Rajkot, and Baroda will be hosted by Mumbai. Maharashtra were relegated.
ScorecardDelhi needed to win their final game to progress to the next round or hope that Karnataka don’t won theirs, but were disappointed on both counts. On a flat track in Nagpur, having somehow enforced the follow-on on Vidarbha, Delhi could prise out only seven wickets on the final day. And in exceptional circumstances, Karnataka won their game moments after Delhi were denied.Shalabh Shrivastava provided the resistance for Vidarbha, who came into the match with a realistic chance of progressing but were frustrated by the flat pitch. Pradeep Sangwan, Vikas Mushra and Sumit Narwal picked up the wickets, but not fast enough. Delhi even got in 95 overs on the day, but couldn’t get past Shrivastava, who batted for five hours and 11 minutes.Vidarbha’s captain, Sairaj Bahutule, announced his retirement from first-class cricket after the match.
ScorecardIn the rain-affected, inconsequential match in Chennai, even a first-innings result was not possible. Haryana finished with 180 for 3 in response to Tamil Nadu’s 571 for 6 declared.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake is confident that his young and inexperienced charges can spring a surprise on England in the upcoming three-Test series

Sa'adi Thawfeeq15-May-2011Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake is confident that his young and inexperienced charges can spring a surprise on England in the upcoming three-Test series. Ramanayake, who played 18 Tests and 62 one-day internationals from 1988 to 1995, will have to make the most of limited resources especially in the pace department.Without the retired Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga the onus will be on Dilhara Fernando, who has played 35 Tests, to lead the attack. Fernando missed Sri Lanka’s first warm-up match against Middlesex, at Uxbridge, but will play against England Lions next week ahead of the opening Test in Cardiff. The total experience of Sri Lanka’s five seam options is limited to 105 wickets in 43 Tests with 90 of those coming from Fernando.None of the fast bowlers picked for Sri Lanka’s last tour to England in 2006 are around in the present squad namely, Vaas, Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Zoysa and Farveez Maharoof, although the latter was drafted in for the first week of the tour. Fernando toured England in 2002 and is the only bowler with some kind of experience in English conditions.”Yes, we have one of the most inexperienced fast bowling line ups taken to England. Except for Dilhara Fernando the others haven’t played much Test cricket at all,” Ramanayake said. “It’s an opportunity for the youngsters to take over and continue. We have the disadvantage of inexperience but looking at it the other way none of the English players have played against our fast bowlers before. It’s an unknown attack to them. I think with that we can unsettle them.”England will know plenty about Fernando and did have a brief taste of Chandaka Welegedara, the left-arm quick, when he made his Test debut at Galle in 2007 but their preparation for the rest will rely in video footage and some advice from Andrew Strauss who hit 151 against them at Uxbridge.”The Englishmen don’t know much about these bowlers and they have not faced them,” Ramanayake said. “It will take some time for them to gauge them and get to know what they are doing. They all bowl quite sharp. Nuwan Pradeep and Thisara Perera bowl in the 140s, Suranga Lakmal has already played two Tests against West Indies and bowled really well.”Perera is waiting on the wings to get into the Test team and has done well in the past year and a half in ODIs. We’ve got some good youngsters and I am quite happy to take this squad because we can really work something with these boys. They can improve and you’ll never know they’ll get wickets in English conditions. I have great belief in them that they can do well.”Pradeep, who had an IPL contract but left early along with captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, is one who comes in for particularly praise from Ramanayake. “You take Pradeep he hasn’t played any cricket at all in his younger days and at school,” he said. “He’s got raw pace, beautiful rhythm and consistency. Consistency comes from rhythm. If the rhythm pattern changes then you don’t bowl a consistently good line and length. You’ve got to be smart as well nowadays.”You got to expect what the batsman is going to do, assess conditions and adjust to the situations and bowl. All these young fast bowlers they haven’t got it yet, but they are getting it from the exposure we give them. They got the right ingredients and this is the best bowling unit we have right now.”Ramanayake also hopes that responsibility will help bring the best out of Fernando who has always been foil for the likes of Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan but now has to be a spearhead on his own. “Dilhara hasn’t played much cricket in the last few months but still the selectors have faith in him,” he said. “He has to deliver the goods because he is the only experienced bowler and he has to show that he is good enough to play Test cricket. That will give him a little bit of responsibility to take up the challenge and do well in England.”Ramanayake thinks Sri Lanka will play three quick bowlers in the Test series, although there best chance could come if the dry weather continues and their spinners – Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv – can play both an attacking and defensive role.”The two warm-up games are vital for us and whoever performs well will have a good chance of playing because you got to get used to the conditions,” he said. “Depending on the pitches three will definitely play or maybe four if there is a lot of grass on the wicket. We are expecting some seaming tracks, but you never know.”England has been quite warm. The weather pattern has changed and we might get warm weather but normally in early summer the wickets are expected to seam. We’ve also got three good spinners in our attack. Rangana very experienced, Suraj has been bowling really well and Ajantha has also got some experience.”

England allrounder Tim Bresnan has vowed to be fit for England’s first match of the World Cup, insisting that regular physiotherapy will have him “raring to go” when the tournament starts

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2011England allrounder Tim Bresnan has vowed to be fit for England’s first match of the World Cup, insisting that regular physiotherapy will have him “raring to go” when the tournament starts. Bresnan picked up a calf injury during the second ODI against Australia at Hobart, ruling him out of the remainder of the seven-match series.The World Cup gets underway in the subcontinent on February 20, with England beginning their campaign against Netherlands two days later. With England currently 3-1 down against Australia, weaknesses in the batting and bowling departments have been exposed and Andy Flower will be keen to have the likes of Bresnan and Stuart Broad back in contention for their first World Cup outing in Nagpur.”The injury is coming on well,” Bresnan, who is back in the UK for treatment on his injury, told . “I’m quite confident of being fit for the first game of the World Cup. I’ve been told some good news in the last couple of days and I’m having some physio every day up until we leave, so I’m putting my full trust in them [the medical team] that they’ll get me ready to go.”Bresnan added that he thought Graeme Swann, who has also flown home with back and knee problems, would be available for selection for England’s opener, and is expecting everyone to feel refreshed when they tackle their next challenge. “Hopefully everyone’s going to be raring to go for that first game. Hopefully everyone’s rested as well so that we are ready to go.”After helping England win the Ashes with a 3-1 series triumph, Bresnan admits the team are targeting the world No. 1 spot. “For that we need consistency,” he said. “If you look at the way the ranking system works it’s all about consistency, it’s not about having a couple of good series here and there. It’s about consistently winning games of cricket. With the strength and depth we’ve got in the ranks, the next target is definitely being the No. 1 in the world.”

A decision on whether the Ashes will return to free-to-air television will be taken before the general election, the Government said on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff12-Jan-2010A decision on whether the Ashes will return to free-to-air television will be taken before the general election, the Government said on Tuesday.Ben Bradshaw, the culture secretary, provisionally accepted the findings of a review panel led by David Davies, the former chairman of the FA, in November last year, which called for the home Ashes to be added to the list of ‘crown jewel’ sporting events protected from pay-only television.The ECB, however, vehemently opposed the move then, arguing that it would bring a severe loss of revenue and harm grassroots funding for the game. The ECB’s current deal with BSkyB and Five, which is worth a combined £300 million, runs until 2013 and includes the next home Ashes series. Under the recommendations the first series that could possibly be back on terrestrial TV would be the 2016 contest.When the move was announced in November the ECB were frustrated that the review committee did not commission an independent report into the economic impact of the decision, after estimating that some £30 million per year, which amounts to more than a third of their annual turnover, could be slashed from their budget.Yet John Grogan, Labour MP for Selby and a long-standing campaigner for wider access to televised sport, said that if governing bodies receive public money they should expect their major events should be shown for free.”If the governing bodies believe in an entirely free market approach, why are they receiving public money? You can’t have it both ways. If hard-pressed taxpayers and lottery players are funding the sports, should they not be able to see some of the events on free-to-air TV?”Sion Simon, a junior minister, told MPs that the government had provisionally accepted the findings of the review and final decision will be made shortly after the period of consultation ends in March.The ECB, however, have not changed their stance, and are holding out hope that the Government will reconsider its provisional decision. “Our position is that we will put in comprehensive documentation and research to the Government,” an ECB spokesman told Cricinfo. “We expect them to take the appropriate amount of time to consider the full financial considerations of any potential decision.”There is, however, only a short window between the end of the consultation period and the moment that parliament goes into recess ahead of an anticipated May election. The move to terrestrial could be seen as an attempt to woo voters, while sticking the boot into Rupert Murdoch, the owner of BSkyB, after the Murdoch-owned Sun backed the Conservatives for the election.

Andrew Flintoff may have turned down a central contract but has insisted that England remains top priority for him, ahead of several domestic Twenty20 deals

Cricinfo staff16-Dec-2009Andrew Flintoff may have turned down a central contract but insists that England remain his top priority, ahead of several domestic Twenty20 deals.Flintoff retired from Tests after the successful Ashes campaign and had rejected an ECB incremental contract soon after. There was speculation that he would become a Twenty20 freelancer, playing full-time in various domestic leagues around the world. He is already the IPL’s most expensive player – along with Kevin Pietersen – after signing an annual US$1.55m deal with the Chennai Super Kings earlier this year.Twenty20 may be more lucrative but England comes first, he told . “I would never turn down England,” he said. “I have shown more than enough passion over the years, and that’s not something you lose because I don’t have a contract.”If I didn’t think I was going to play for England again, I would not have had this latest operation, no way. It is all about playing for England. My intentions are to play every one-day and Twenty20 game for England. It is never going to be a case of picking and choosing.”A series of injuries were one of the reasons behind ending his Test career. He is currently recovering from a post-Ashes knee surgery, which forced him to be on crutches for nearly 12 weeks. Flintoff is still in doubt for England’s tour of Bangladesh in February, but was hopeful his best years in limited-overs cricket were still ahead of him.”I’m not sure I have even played my best yet, especially in one-day cricket – so now I am having this break I think I have got the chance to get better as a player. I am not going to just get by. I genuinely think I can now play my best ever cricket.”After turning down the England contract, Flintoff was linked with domestic Twenty20 deals in Australia and South Africa, sparking concerns that more players may decide to put cash before country. “I don’t think other players will follow what I’ve done,” he said. “There is a real misconception at the moment – people go on about the riches involved in Twenty20 cricket – but you earn your reputation playing Test cricket.”Everyone wants to play that, and then maybe later on in your career some players will have a choice – especially bowlers, who can’t play everything forever.”

Sky Sports agrees to share rights for MCG clash with free-to-air broadcaster

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Nov-2022The T20 World Cup final between England and Pakistan will be broadcast on free-to-air television in the UK and Ireland.While Sky Sports are exclusive UK rights holders to the tournament, it was announced on Thursday* that an agreement had been reached to share Sunday’s showpiece event at the MCG with Channel 4, as they did in 2019 for the 50-over World Cup final.The deal had been struck in principle before England’s semi-final against India, which Jos Buttler’s team won comfortably by 10 wickets. Sky will also show the final free on their Showcase channel, and were willing to partner with Channel 4 again after the success of three years ago, when England beat New Zealand in a nailbiter at Lord’s to win their first men’s 50-over title – a game that drew peak viewing figures of 8.3 million.Related

• Alex Hales and Jos Buttler carry England into final with 10-wicket mauling of India

• Jos Buttler relishes 'best performance' as England surge into World Cup final

• Moody: India were 'very conservative and lacked intent' in the first half of their innings

“We’d be immensely happy with that,” Buttler said in his post-match press conference in Adelaide. “That would be fantastic for the game in our country, as many eyes as we can get on that final would be great. That’d be brilliant if that happens. It’s important that we always look to grow our game and showcase cricket to the next generation especially, so we’d really welcome that if that was possible.”Channel 4 broadcast England’s tour of India in 2020-21, the first time Test cricket had been shown free-to-air in the UK since the 2005 Ashes. The BBC has also had rights to show a limited number of men’s and women’s T20 internationals since the start of the 2020 broadcast deal.The T20 World Cup final, which begins at 8am GMT, will see England and Pakistan once again do battle 30 years on from their famous MCG encounter in the final of the 50-over competition.Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports managing director, said: “We know the importance of this game, so we are pleased to be able to share this great sporting moment with our whole nation thanks to our strong relationship with Channel 4. Whether you’re supporting England or Pakistan, this will be one to remember.”Ian Katz, chief content officer at Channel 4, added: “We are thrilled that Channel 4 and Sky have struck this deal to make another great national sporting moment available on free-to-air television to audiences across the UK. As the days draw in, some thrilling international cricket from the southern hemisphere should offer some welcome cheer.”Several fixtures at the World Cup have been affected by bad weather and there is another poor forecast for Sunday. In the event that the final spills into Monday’s reserve day, it is understood that Channel 4 will still look to broadcast the game in full.* 1600 GMT – This story was updated with confirmation from Sky and Channel 4

Australian import hits 83 off 30 as Middlesex wake up to their false dawn

David Hopps07-Jun-2022There have been swingers in Radlett – famously so, as they were once the subject of a Channel 4 documentary – but sadly, as far as Middlesex were concerned, they were not of the cricketing variety. When it came to games between bat and ball there was hardly a nod and a wink to be had as Middlesex’s innings rarely got off the straight and narrow.For Hampshire, though, it was a case of bring on the party. Ben McDermott, stocky and belligerent – think Bob Hoskins with athletic talent – brought along his own playlist of sixes, nine of them included in a destructive innings of 83 in 30 balls.His stand of 132 in 9.4 overs with James Vince broke the record for Hampshire’s opening T20 stand for the second game running. Australia have omitted him from their squad for Sri Lanka and he is sticking around to make counties pay and seek a wildcard spot in the Hundred. I mean, why wouldn’t you?Middlesex did not bowl well at McDermott. Too often, they were short and straight, and seven of his nine sixes were walloped into the square-leg arc. They know as well as anyone how to defend Radlett’s small boundaries and the pitch was slow and low, but with only 142 for 7 in the bank and McDermott flexing his muscles and thinking “club ground”, there was little to be done against such a combative assault.The upshot was a nine-wicket victory for Hampshire, who won with eight overs to spare. Vince, England’s lost stylist, collected an unbeaten half-century to round things off. Hampshire escaped the foot of South Group as a result and they looked a likelier side than Middlesex to be in the shake-up when the group stakes reach their climax this time next month.